Arjun watched in amusement as Shruti paced back and forth in the hotel suite, pretending to clean up a bit.
"You're going to wear yourself out, sweety," he called to her. "Why don't you come and sit down for a moment? Riddhi won't be here for another ten minutes. Neil said he'd call upon her arrival."
"I'm nervous," she admitted, though that fact was blatantly obvious. "All this speculation about your love life for years and you're about to blow it out of the water by finally admitting we've been married for four. Are you sure this is what you want? Cause it will open up a whole new can of worms for you."
"I'm sure," he confirmed, standing up to stop her. "I've never been more sure of anything, except that I wanted to marry you all those years ago."
"Okay," she breathed. "It will be fine. And maybe people will stop calling me your assistant. I'd prefer to just be your wife."
"Well, that's a title you'll have the rest of your life," he assured her, holding her close. "You know what will calm you down?"
"A shot?" she joked.
"No," he chuckled softly, slowly swaying in place. "We'll dance."
"There's no music," she pointed out.
"Well, sweety, in case you've forgotten, you married a singer," he replied, humming the music to one of her favorite songs, 'Peaches.'
"This is nice," she whispered after a few moments with her head resting on his shoulder.
"The tour breaks in a week before we head to the States," Arjun reminded her. "We have two weeks off, so I've planned a vacation for you and me."
Shruti pulled back just enough to look at him in awe. "You did? We never go on vacations alone; it would've blown our cover. Did you do all this in the last week?"
"Uh, no," he denied. "Admittedly, because I know you like honesty, I was going to tell Riddhi about us today whether you knew it or not." He immediately flinched in preparation for her reaction.
"What?!" she cried. "Arjun, you can't do shit like that. I realize you're the one living your life in the public eye, but the decisions you make about our marriage affect me, too."
He just held her tighter. "Shruti, why does it matter now? We've agreed it's for the best."
"But what if it wasn't?" she demanded. "What if I wasn't ready? You were just going to do it anyway."
"If I thought you weren't ready, you know I wouldn't," Arjun replied sincerely. "But you are. I know how much you hate being called 'Arjun Punj's assistant' and how much you hate reading about me being linked to other women. Anytime a magazine comes out with me on the cover with someone else, you hardly sleep. It takes me singing like four songs to the usual one or two for you to nod off." He took her face gently between his hands. "If all of this goes away tomorrow, and it very well could, as long as I have you, I'll be happy. I love you very much, sweetie. I just want everyone to know it."
Any residual anger she had left at his words. She placed her hands over his and leaned in to kiss him. "I love you, too, and taking a vacation alone would be nice."
Just then, there was a knock at the door to their suite and Neil walked in, leading Riddhi and the important members of Arjun's team: Arohi, Shanaya, Rishabh, Shivam, Prince, and Yogita.
"Arjun, how are you?" Riddhi greeted him with a handshake.
"Doing well," Arjun answered, leading him to the large living room Neil had deemed best for the interview to take place. "You?"
"Same," Riddhi nodded. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Arjun confirmed, taking a seat in the stuffed armchair.
Shruti stood between Shanaya and Shivam and took a deep breath. "This is it."
Shivam reached down to squeeze her hand gently. "It's going to be fine, bhabhi. Better than that. You'll get to walk beside him and hold his hand."
"People will stop calling you his PA," Rishabh added, leaning over Shanaya.
"You can start wearing your wedding rings," Shanaya went on. "And take the vacation he's been planning for the last few weeks. Did he tell you?"
"He did," Shruti nodded. "I don't know what we're going through. Do you?"
"He should tell you," Rishabh spoke up, shooting looks at his wife and brother-in-law. "He's worked so hard on this."
"Oh, all right," Shanaya whined, deflating at the thought of not getting to tell the surprise. "He looks nice."
"I picked his outfit," Shruti explained. "He wanted to wear another Henley but I told him no and put him in the sweater instead. It's chilly anyway."
"So, Arjun, you've been doing this for a long time now," Riddhi said as the interview began. "How'd it start?"
"Well, my mother gave me my first guitar when I was eight and I just taught myself to play," Arjun remembered. "My father wanted all of us to be business, but that was never in the cards for me. If I wasn't playing, I was painting or drawing. At twelve, I won a talent show in Ahmedabad and was approached then by a record label, but my mother didn't think I was old enough, so I just kept playing for fun. And then, two years later, our parents died and I threw myself into making music my career so I could step up and take care of my family."
"Well, you've made your whole operation a family-run machine," Riddhi chuckled.
"We were very close growing up, so we've just kept it that way," Arjun shrugged. "Neil knows me better than almost anyone, and he's got a law degree, so making him my manager was a no-brainer; he's very noble, so he keeps the professional and personal separate. No one knows clothes quite like Shanaya, so she was a natural choice for my stylist. Shivam plays guitar nearly as well as I do, and he's the only one I trust to take care of our equipment—surprisingly—so he's lead guitar tech. Prince is the youngest, just eighteen, and he's decided to take a gap year before university, so he's helping out wherever we need him."
Riddhi nodded. "And Rishabh Kapadia, your lead singer, is married to Shanaya, while Arohi Goenka, your tour manager, is married to Neil. Is that everyone?"
Arjun looked across the room to lock eyes with Shruti. "Not exactly."
"What, is Shivam married to your hair and makeup artist?" Riddhi joked.
"No, I'm not sure Shivam will ever tie himself down to one woman," Arjun smirked. "No, my right-hand, Shruti Sarnaik, is also married to another member of the team."
"Oh, right," Riddhi said. "You mentioned writing 'Tu Mileya' for her wedding. So, who is it? Anmol Daniel? Hardil Pandya?"
"Me," Arjun answered confidently. "Shruti and I have been married now for four years."
Silence filled the room at this admission. Riddhi stared at him for a long moment before turning to glance at Shruti, who just smiled nervously.
"Four years?" Riddhi exclaimed. "You've been married to a member of your team for four years and it's never leaked? How have you managed that?"
"Very carefully," Arjun laughed. "We got married in a court and only the people in this room, as well as Anmol, Hardil, and a few others, have known all this time."
"Why hide it?" Riddhi wanted to know.
"Well, I live my life in a fishbowl and we agreed it would be best for me to adjust to that first before throwing her in," Arjun told her. "And then, she decided she preferred not being in the spotlight just for marrying me, so we kept it up. But it's been four years and I want to be able to hold her hand when I walk out of this hotel for the show tomorrow."
"Wow," Riddhi breathed. "Well, would you mind if I ask her a few questions?"
Knowing it was a possibility, Arjun and Shruti discussed that request.
"Sure," she agreed, walking over to sit on the arm of Arjun's chair. "Hi, Riddhi."
"Hi, Shruti," Riddhi grinned. "So you're married. In all the times we've met over the years, I never once would've guessed. No one would."
"One person did once," Shruti recalled, "but when he couldn't confirm it, he dropped it." She looked at Arjun. "You'll probably have to go on Kapil for this."
"Kapil Sharma figured you out?" Riddhi asked.
"Yeah, when I went on his show last time, only Shruti went with me, and often, when it's just the two of us, I sometimes tend to treat her like my wife and not someone working for me," Arjun explained. "I suppose I tripped up because Kapil saw me tuck Shruti's hair behind her ear and that got him suspicious."
"Well, that's his tale," Arohi spoke up.
"His tell?" Riddhi repeated.
"Yeah," Arohi nodded. "That's how Arjun shows her affection. He'll reach out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and he lets his hand linger on her cheek too long. We've told him before it would be their downfall, but he doesn't listen."
"I can't help it," Arjun shrugged. "With our marriage under wraps, I took every opportunity I could to touch her."
"So, how long have you been together?" Riddhi wanted to know. "How'd you meet, to begin with?"
"Shruti is Arohi's best friend from Delhi," Arjun answered. "We first met when Arohi married Neil seven years ago, but she joined our team a year later to help out Shanaya. When her organizational skills came to my attention, I stole her away from my sister and had her essentially take charge of my life. We worked so closely that one thing led to another and we started secretly dating."
"We didn't tell anyone for months," Shruti went on. "I was only twenty at the time and terrified that Arohi or Neil would think I was being unprofessional."
Riddhi looked at Neil. "Did you?"
"Well, we didn't hire Shruti to start dating Arjun, but I saw how happy she made him, so I overlooked it. Almost six years later, here we are. He's as successful as ever and so much of that is thanks to Shruti," Neil complimented her.
Shruti beamed. Of everyone on Arjun's team, she was least close to Neil, even though she loved her brother-in-law, so that was high praise.
"Do you two have wedding rings?" Riddhi wondered.
Arjun looked down at his hand. "We do, but I don't wear mine even when it's just us because it pinches on the guitar. She wears hers occasionally, but we got matching tattoos instead. He held up his wrist to show the infinity lock and Shruti did the same to show her infinity key."
Riddhi studied them. "Let me guess: she's the key to your heart?"
"Cheesy, we know, but it goes deeper than just being cute," Shruti said. "And honestly, we got them for us, not anyone else."
"Fair enough," Riddhi agreed. "Well, Shruti, it's been a pleasure to talk to you, but I'm sure you didn't plan for this, so you can return to what you were doing."
"Thanks," Shruti smiled, walking back over to join the others.
Because the interview was for a cover, the plan was for Riddhi to spend the day with Arjun and his team, so she joined Arjun, Shruti, Shivam, and Prince for a yacht ride.
"This is almost date-like," Arjun teased as he helped Shruti into the boat. "You know if my brothers and a journalist weren't here."
Shruti laughed. "We can pretend."
"Please don't," Shivam begged. "I've seen you two when you think it's just the two of you and it's disgusting."
Prince, who'd been texting on his phone, looked at the couple. "Do you think you guys will have an actual wedding now? I mean, I know it's been four years and stuff, but you could. Shruti never got to wear a wedding dress and you never had a honeymoon. You just signed some papers and then danced in the backyard in her childhood home in Manali."
Arjun's ears perked up at the mention of a 'honeymoon.' "You know, that might not be the worst idea, sweety. You do deserve an actual wedding."
"A wedding would be nice," Shruti agreed. "Something small, but so our friends and family could be there to see it. We could have it at the Whitestone Manor in Manali. I'm sure Ritesh could convince his parents to let us."
"Hmm," Arjun thought. "The tour wraps at the beginning of February, so a wedding on our anniversary in March is completely doable."
"What about kids?" Riddhi wanted to know, now infinitely more interested in Arjun's personal life and the marriage bomb than his music. "Are they in the future?"
Arjun glanced at Shruti before answering. "I hope so. We've discussed it before, but it has to be the right time."
"Which is now," Shivam jumped in. "Neil and Arohi are workaholics, so they'll never have kids, but I like babies, so now is a good time for him to knock her up."
"Shivam, we are in a yacht," Shruti warned. "Don't make me push you out of it."
"Look, this isn't something I say very often, but Shivam is right," Prince spoke up. "I'd say it a little nicer, but it's true. The tour wraps in just under three months and then he's got a lot of time off. If Shruti were to get pregnant now, it's good timing. She won't be too far along to finish out to tour and then they've got so much time to take it easy. They'll be the best parents. When our parents died, and I lived with my grandparents, they were elderly, you know? Arjun was there for me all the time. He's ten years older, but he helped raise me. Their kids will be lucky."
Shruti nudged Prince's knee with her own and smiled. "Thanks, Prince."
"Clearly, over the years, your music has been influenced by Shruti," Riddhi went on a bit later. "Any favorite songs about her?"
"I should preface by saying not all of my songs are about me or us," Arjun chuckled. For instance, 'Ek Tarfa'' is about Shivam, and 'Barishon Mein' was about a woman Rishabh had dated. But yes, I particularly like 'Tu Mileya,' which we danced to when we got married, and 'Tum mere,' which is new."
"'Ek Tarfa,'" Shruti murmured. "That's about Ananya."
"Ananya?" Riddhi repeated.
"The one who got away," Arjun joked. "When I said earlier that Shivam would never tie himself down, it's because the only girl he ever wanted to tie himself to broke his heart."
"Arjun," Shruti whispered. "Don't go there. That's about them."
"Sorry," Arjun apologized.
"And,' Barishon Mein' was for?" "That's Rishabh's story to tell" Shruti answered.
"Wow," Riddhi murmured in awe. "Arjun, you have this reputation for being tough to break, but seeing you around Shruti, you're a puppy."
Arjun shrugged. "I love my wife and I'd throw myself in front of a train for her. She's given up a lot for me, so I just aim to make her happy. That's my priority. Like I told her this morning if all this goes away tomorrow, but I still have her, I'll be just fine."
That night, after Riddhi had left with the promise of writing something spectacular, Arjun and Shruti were sitting in Neil and Arohi's room eating dinner when Neil's phone started going wild.
"It's out," Arohi knew.
"Tomorrow, everything changes," Shruti said, looking at her husband.
He reached for her hand. "I'm ready."